Interior window shutters are a popular and practical alternative to blinds, drapes or curtains used to regulate the entry of light into a home or other building. Interior window shutters, usually constructed of wood, provide a more durable and classically attractive alternative to other window dressings. Typically, interior window shutters are either square or rectangularly shaped and include a multitude of horizontally extending slats or louvers operated by a vertically extending rod or arm.
Up until now, it has been difficult if not impossible to provide operating window shutters that cover an arched or circular window. This has been due to the difficulty in constructing a workable, movable interior window shutter for shapes of windows other than rectangular. Oftentimes, fixed, immovable shutters, which cannot be adjusted to regulate light, or simply another form of window dressing must be used over arched or circular windows.
The window screen of Simon, U.S. Pat. No. 1,447,189, shows a semicircular shutter panel assembly operated in conventional fashion by ropes and cables to open and close an arched window. However, Simon's semicircular design window screen does not have the versatility and adaptability of the interior arched shutter assembly of the present invention. In particular, Applicant's arched shutter assembly can be manufactured with an elliptical or other irregular shape; however, Simon's design is capable of operation only with a semicircular shape because Simon's operating mechanism is attached to the slats at their outermost ends. Since the operating mechanism must lie in a uniform arc, Simon's design is limited to circular and semicircular shapes.